Prompts vs. source files — what's the difference?
A prompt is instructions your AI runs to recreate a layer as a single self-contained HTML file. A source file is the actual code we built the layer from, downloaded directly. Prompts are stack-agnostic; source files are ready to run.
A prompt is portable. The AI outputs one self-contained HTML file that assumes nothing about your framework, build step, or folder structure — give it to any AI with “recreate this following my project's structure” and you're in Vue, Astro, Svelte, WordPress, or anything else.
A source file is direct. No generation step, nothing to interpret — you get exactly what you saw in the preview. It comes in a category-specific format: templates and sections as Next.js, 3D scenes as standalone HTML, video backgrounds as the file itself.
Reach for a prompt when you want the layer in a stack we don't ship, or you'll reshape it heavily anyway. Reach for a source file when you want the result as designed, ready to run.
When to use it
Read this before your first layer. Which mode you pick determines every step that follows.